The subsequent development of the situation would determine how Tianming would use Lan Sha. At the moment, the Empyrean Sword Sect and Li Wushuang were gathering their people at Aix Lake. Tens of thousands of expert cultivators gathered, most of them elites at the Solar stage who had cultivated for hundreds of years, even thousands. Their combat power was incredible.
The Empyrean Sword Sect had yet to leave the lake, an indication of their confidence in their strength. It was also their sword dao. However, it was still uncertain if a greater conflict was in store. What Tianming and Long Wanying hoped for was a battle that resulted in casualties on both sides.
Tens of thousands of Yin Chens started dividing so the entire Azuresoul Tower was covered in bonegnaw ants. They spread toward Lan Sha’s body like a flood of metal.
Lan Sha struggled and screamed, his face twisting into a painful grimace. He resisted with the last of his strength, but still couldn’t stop the endless army of bonegnaw ants. Even if a small number of them entered his bones, their attack was enough to send him convulsing in pain and gradually lose the will to fight. He was powerless against the flood of metal ants that continued pouring into his bones.
With a look of indifference, Tianming pulled out the Grand-Orient Sword and stabbed Lan Sha in the abdomen. Sword-shaped heavenly patterns shot into his body, hiding in his bones, internal organs, and flesh and blood. The gold and black Imperial Sword Prison easily occupied his entire body in the absence of resistance. Tianming had ample time to plant it in him.
Lan Sha’s eyes widened, his shark-like, murderous countenance no longer sinister, but filled with despair and fear, even defeat. The bonegnaw ants continue infesting his body. This was the first time Tianming had been so unreserved. Yun Tianque and Gujian Qingshuang didn’t dare watch such a scene.
“Spare me please… I’m begging you, spare me.” Lan Sha’s breathing weakened as he pleaded. In the past, he never could have imagined such a desperate moment. It was a waking nightmare—it had always been others who begged him for mercy! People with whom he had engaged in tit-for-tat retaliation were now standing by the side, coldly watching, especially Long Wanying and Jiang Qingliu.
“The evils we bring upon ourselves are the hardest to bear,” said Long Wanying.
Gasping, Lan Sha continued struggling; every moment had him convulsing in pain. Finally, nearly a million ants had settled in his body. Numerous Imperial Sword Prisons had invaded him as well; this was a two-pronged approach. Lan Sha would be easy to control and kill. The bonegnaw ants were a more formidable force as, despite the number of Imperial Sword Prisons, their effect was minimal. Their main function was to provide camouflage for the effect of the bonegnaw ants.
Lan Sha lay limp on the ground, dripping with sweat. His lips were pale, his face blue, and his gaze was beaten—he looked lifeless. The moment Tianming had the ants attack again, Lan Sha began rolling around on the ground.
“You should know how that feels by now,” Tianming said.
Lan Sha weakly nodded.
“There’s only two paths before you. Your first option is to be at my disposal, and your other is to die at once. I suggest you choose the first one because you’ll only have a chance to take revenge if you’re alive,” said Tianming.
The way he treated Lan Sha was naturally different from how he treated the others. After Yun Tianque and Gujian Qingshuang were under his control, Tianming had immediately shown them the bonegnaw ants and cockroaches, yet he refrained from revealing anything to Lan Sha. He didn’t need Lan Sha’s approval at all; what he wanted was fear!
“I choose the first,” Lan Sha said.
“Fine then. You’re a sensible one.”
Lan Sha was certainly reluctant to die after all that suffering. After all, how would he have a chance to retaliate against Tianming if he was dead? How could his life just end like this? What he wanted was retribution.
Looking at the blue-blooded man whose killing intent was unconcealed, Tianming laughed coldly and thought to himself, I might’ve proposed two options, but in fact, I’m the one who makes the decision, not you. If I want you to be a dog, you’re a dog, and if I want you dead, you have no choice but to die.
“Rest for a while, Lan Sha,” he said.
“What?” Lan Sha froze. He didn’t need rest. However, the bonegnaw ants began attacking again and his shrill screams reverberated in the cauldron until he fainted from the pain.
Upon seeing the tyrannical blue-blooded expert lying on the ground like a dead dog, Jiang Qingliu finally experienced karma.
……
The Wind Swordlord arrived in Aix Lake after leaving behind more than two thousand swordpupils on Inverse Peak because this was where the fight was. The wargodeans that had been on Inverse Peak were also headed this way. Within the territory of the Azuresoul Palace alone, the Empyrean Sword Sect swordpupils that’d been guarding other saplings had also been transferred here. There were at least fifty thousand swordpupils gathered in Aix Lake at the moment.
There wasn’t any change in the saplings for the time being. The Empyrean Sword Sect relied on its “small force” to protect the saplings. For fear that the Rain Swordlord might suffer a loss, he had dispatched reinforcements to Aix Lake. After the unforeseen turn of events, the Wind Swordlord had sent a message to Gujian Qingshuang, requesting that he lead their swordpupils in watching over the saplings within the Azuresoul Palace’s territory. After all, they would still be able to drive away the swordpupils of the Azuresoul Palace and occupy the area once the battle was over.
The swordpupils who had been urgently deployed had arrived. In addition, there were other reinforcements on their way. It was clear the Wind Swordlord’s familiarity with Li Wushuang’s ruthless ways had led him to take precautions. In the eyes of the Rain Swordlord, slaughtering two thousand Blueblood Starocean cultivators in retaliation for Shi Yan’s death was fair, but Li Wushuang might not think so.
However, the Wind Swordlord couldn’t blame the Rain Swordlord for her actions. Not even he would hold back after such provocation from their opponents, as well as the news that Li Wushuang had practically murdered Shi Yan. Shi Yan had a rather high status in the Empyrean Sword Sect and was the Northdipper Swordsage’s junior sister. She couldn’t be compared to Gujian Daoyi. Li Wushuang’s actions were tantamount to dismissing the Empyrean Sword Sect.
“They dare to kill Shi Yan! If I don’t strike back, then what about our dignity? Even if we were to deliberate the matter, Li Wushuang would still be to blame! I’ve already reported this to the Sky Palace. The celestial orderians’ actions in the Azurecloud Continent is in itself a form of provocation,” the Rain Swordlord quickly explained.
“That’s enough. Get ready for battle!” The Wind Swordlord descended upon Aix Lake.
Across the bloody lake, the Blueblood Starocean and wargodean armies had gathered.
“How many are there?” the Wind Swordlord asked.
“At least forty thousand. It looks like they also gathered cultivators from the other saplings,” said the Rain Swordlord.
Their numbers were almost equal, making this a very dangerous situation. Turning to the other side, the Wind Swordlord swept his gaze across the bloody corpses floating on Aix Lake and saw their opponents’ surging killing intent and fighting spirit. The bloody battlefield had provoked them to the point of madness.
“It doesn’t look good. They think we’ve gone overboard.” The Wind Swordlord frowned.
“Then who’s to blame? Li Wushuang was the first to attack us. They’ve made their bed, now they can lie in it!” the Rain Swordlord cursed.
